CARCHEX

I would go in for my standard service, so normal maintenance and repairs is not covered, so standard oil. Transmission oil was the big one for me because it cost me almost $400 for other things underneath my old policy, because they didn't cover fluids and/or the gaskets. There was a problem with the transmission, they fixed the transmission, but the seals and the oil weren't covered. When I went to the CARCHEX one, I found that they had one that was complete. That was great. But normal wear and tear maintenance, batteries, wire, tires, whatever, that's normal. But if they find something that's significant on that vehicle, I would say, "Well, call CARCHEX because that should be covered underneath my warranty." So, they phone CARCHEX, they get it all, and I might have to leave my vehicle there for a couple of days for them to get that straightened away, but that's just a normal process through this.

It was identified in there that if CARCHEX thinks that the garage is trying to take them, they have inspectors to go out and check on that, or at least phone them up and say, "Hey, send me pictures," and stuff like that that the dealership has to do. They look after themselves as well as me, and make sure that it is something that is really an item that should be covered under warranty and/or should be fixed. And that the value is there.

I just signed in for another four years. The car is one that we hope to have for a long time. We had my daughter's X3 in the city here, and both dealerships, by the time they were done, they had all this work would be about $6,000 or $7,000 and not worth fixing. Took it to a buddy, we ended up getting it down to 3,200 bucks. I know the priceyness of some of these repairs, especially if you got a valve cover gasket that is leaking. To do valve cover gaskets are $1,500 on a BMW. You just shake your head at it. If I could get that covered under this warranty, it's peace of mind more than anything else. And knowing I've got a standard warranty for four more years and a bumper-to-bumper other than normal maintenance, I was happy with that.

Even though the price was a bit cheaper, it was just the fact of how everything was coming about whenever the car needed service, which was one of my major issues. I was looking for something that I will have to pay some deductible or a certain percentage of, which I didn't mind. If something goes out that is a major issue and it's $3,000, I don't wanna put three grand into it. Other companies were, "Yeah, we'll only cover 50, and then you pay the other 50." I said, “Okay. So, you're telling me even if I'm paying as much as what I'm paying with you guys, I'm still gonna end up coming more out of my pocket whenever the engine blows up or something like that? So, if the engine is three grand, I will have to come up with 1,500, and then you guys cover the 1,500.” They were like, “Yeah. That’s it.” I was like, “I appreciate it, but I'm not going with you.”

Whenever an issue does come up, I'm glad I already have the service covered. Since mine is a bigger car and a newer one, it has more sensors and all this other stuff, and I don't wanna deal with any of that. So, in case something does go wrong with it and I decide to take it to the service, they would probably know the car back and forth, and it's free of mind.

But I did not end up buying the car that I was going to look at and I told the guy that we were still searching. He was so nice and told me that he would check back in on me. He called me back and asked if I had found a car. I still haven't yet. I wanted a convertible bug. It's a 2013 with 49,000 miles on it. The guy called again and by then, I told him we were getting the car that day and if he were to call me in the afternoon, we would talk. I told him my needs and my wants. He was going through it and he said 30,000 miles would come first. I couldn't do that because I put 30,000 miles on my car in a year. That was not going to be a three-year warranty for me. That was gonna be a one-year warranty.

But the guy was so thorough and was one of the best as far as dealing with anybody on the phone. He explained the differences like “I’m gonna put you on this. Your deductible will go down, but you're gonna lose some of your coverage. We’re going with a longer warranty.” In the end, I got the 100,000-mile three-year warranty. My car is covered until 150,000 miles and I couldn't believe it.

I checked with the Better Business Bureau and CARCHEX has an A rating with them. I checked out some of the reviews and what people were saying about them. I had seen that the CARCHEX is rated number one right now as far as car warranties. I felt very confident in my purchase. I also asked the guy if we could get the service cheaper if we were to pay all at once. We saved about $800.

I was not with my husband when I was making these decisions and I told the guy that. He said he would make it easier for me. He said he would put me down where I would only get charged as if I paid the policy in one payment. But they would set it up on six payments at 444, which was fine. Now, I have this nice car with a 100,000-mile warranty on it and it's paid for.

I was very satisfied with the customer service and with what I hope to get as the product. My mechanic told me that car warranties are great but sometimes they would screw you. They would send somebody out and would want the mechanic to tear the motor down completely. They would then say, "Well you didn't change the oil like you were supposed to. This is neglect." The motor's on the floor but the warranty company would not pay for it. I realize that there are things that may come along with the warranty but if I get what I was told for the cost that I was told, I will be extremely satisfied.

The protection specialist was a good guy. I asked a lot of questions like what doesn't the warranty cover. He explained to me everything that wasn't covered, so that way, I could make sure I got the right plan that was appropriate for what I was trying to do. He answered any questions, gave me his number, and sent out information the same day. He was very helpful. The thing that dragged customer service down for me, and it was partially my fault, was I called later in the day. A lot of times, I don't get off work before 5:00 or 6:00 so I called around the time it was five and a half hours before they closed and they bounced me around so much. They hung up on me twice. I’m attributing that to people who were leaving early, and they had a lack of representatives to handle calls, ‘cause the next day when I called back, there wasn't any of that stuff going on.

Having this warranty is very valuable to me. I have a couple of friends that had this car and they’ve told me that when getting a small repair, it gets very costly. A repair could be $1,200 to $1,500 for just a basic one. So, to pay for $2,500 for a warranty that’ll last five years is pretty good. Just knowing that when I’m riding down the road, if anything happens, I can choose the warranty shop of my choice and I don't have to wait till something breaks completely down. If I notice any noise or anything that’s abnormal, I can take it in and CARCHEX will cover it. They're a great company and they’re customer service-oriented. I had a bad experience, but it was quickly rectified. As long as their customer service is good, they'll be around for a little while.

Other than that, the first payment came out but I haven't gotten a contract. So, that's got me a little concerned. But if they're gonna play games, then I'll just cancel and go with somebody else. I also had to ask their rep at the end of my conversation with him if it was okay to cancel this contract at any time and he said I could cancel at any time. But it the salesperson didn't offer that up. I asked him straight out. All in all, it was an okay experience, though I wouldn't say it was great because they sold me the top thing without being upfront about my other options. The Titanium package was over 3,000 and that's pretty high. But the coverage is there, it is excellent, and I feel comfortable about it. The term is great as well. At the same time, I know that I overpaid for warranty and that I didn't receive all the information from CARCHEX. And I probably should have asked for that, so it was on me as a consumer.